UK · Hermitage
A Croft Above Loch Maree
A stone croft in the Scottish Highlands, two miles from the nearest road. Pine forest, a peat fire, and the loch below.
The croft was last lived in by a shepherd in 1973 and has been kept in honest repair since. There is no electricity. Water is from a spring. The owner — a retired schoolteacher in Edinburgh — visits each August. She requests only that the hermit feed the cat (an old grey called Murdo), gather kindling against winter, and refrain from felling any tree thicker than a wrist.
Terms of the arrangement
The hermit may keep chickens if they wish. The hermit shall not light fires in the pine wood between May and September. The hermit shall write twice a year to the owner; otherwise, silence is welcome.